Banging The Drum

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:10:00 GMT

Draks Drum just did a 4th November gig at the Admiral Lord Rodney in Colne. We had a great one, we had some excellent comments and the crowd really enjoyed our music. So, that's a result. We've had some line up changes in the last few months. Dave King our violin player had to leave the band due to other commitments and Steve Dixon left as well for the same reason. We looked around for another violinist but as most violinists don't want to play in bands we've decided to manage without one for the time being. We're doing ok thanks. At the bass end of things we're very happy to announce that Joao Frazao is our new bass player. Joao is a Portugese guitarist and a performer/writer in his own right with international experience and he said he'd have a go at bass to help us out even though it's not his first instrument. Last night he was awesome and brought a whole new dimension to the band. The amazing thing is he's learnt 90 mins of original music in just over a month. He's a real pro and we're very lucky to have him on board. Third time lucky for Draks Drum with our new bass player. Thank God he ended up in Colne somehow! Other news is we're planning to do some recording in the new year. Probably an EP and an album. We've got some great producer/engineer friends who are willing to help us record and mix our stuff so we're looking forward to that. Also, we're on the gig trail as well so we'll keep you posted when we've got some dates. That's it for now. It's bonfire night tonight so we'll probably be immolating some politicians and bankers or maybe just have a few beers instead. See you soon. DD

2011 - The Final Furlong

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:26:42 GMT

It's the final third of 2011 and it's whizzed by hasn't it? Some folk think 2011 is the last complete year ever but I've heard that the Mayan elders are at pains to explain that their end-of-world calendar is really more about the end of the current 'system' rather than the end of all life on planet earth as we know it. Hooray! I'll drink to the end of the 'system' that's been grinding us humans down for the last 5,000 years or so! Good riddance that's what I say. Of course in December 2012 if I happen to be blogging and the ground opens up and I plummet a few hundred miles to the centre of the earth, then humble pie will be my last thoughts as my skull gets crushed under tons of rock. Anyway, it's still 2011 and the only rock that's been happening so far has been with the band thank God. Draks Drum have had a very productive first year. 2011 has been a blast; getting the lads together, learning a set of tunes, doing a few gigs, trying to make some fans for what we're doing. We had a struggle finding the right musicians and indeed there are still some line up changes to report, but all in all things are settling down and we're just hungry for more live experience. We had two gigs over the Colne Blues in August and the one at Jim's Cafe was a blinder for us. We all squeezed on to Jims compact and bijou 'stage' (including Martin with his drumkit) and from the off it sounded great to us. The audience enjoyed it too judging by the applause and the whoops. Result. We've got plenty of things planned for the rest of 2011 including some new tunes, a video shoot and as many gigs/open mics as we can possibly get between now and the end of the year so we're looking forward to that. Speaking of final furlongs, a guitarist friend of ours once calculated the speed of light in furlongs per fortnight. It took a whole evening of much hilarity, drink and drugs but he managed it in the end. I still have his sheets of calculations somewhere. Try it, it's more fun than worrying about 2012. JH

Can't Get Enough Of The Colne Blues Blues

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 03:53:10 GMT

August Bank Holiday is almost upon us which means one thing to all of us in this neck of the Lancashire woods. Yes, it's the Great British Rn'B Festival 2011 aka The Colne Blues. Plenty of people think that Colne is a bit of a shithole but on the other hand plenty of people love Colne a lot. One thing we all agree on however is that Colne has a buzzing music scene for both covers and original artists. The Colne Blues has been going for years and it attracts international stars as well as local talent in equal measure. There's always been an unhealthy tension between the so-called 'offical' venues and the Colne 'fringe' which includes Jim's Cafe and The Derby Arms. Both these venues have been stalwart supporters of original music for many years despite the sniffy and bureaucratic attitude of our Masters Of Leisure and local constabulary. Draks Drum are playing at Jims on Saturday 27th at 7pm and at The Duke Of Lancaster on Monday 29th at 1.30pm and we're really looking forward to it even though we won't be at full strength as some band members have holidays to attend. Speaking of gigs we had an excellent first proper gig at The Cross Keys, Barnoldswick last week supporting Inner Frenzy. All seven members of Draks Drum were there for the first time including Martin on drums and Steve on bass and we had a great gig. Well, we enjoyed it anyway and we got some very encouraging comments. Thanks to Clinton and the Inner Frenzy boys for letting us use their gear. Various members of Draks Drum have played at The Colne Blues for at least the last ten years or so and we're expecting it to be a fantastic weekend. So come on down if you're in the area and check out all the free music that's on offer. Some of DD might try a bit of unlicensed busking (what a stupid country we live in!) and risk the wrath and opprobrium of our local constabulary but hey ho, we still can't get enough of the Colne Blues blues and try as they might they won't stop the party. JH

A-Gigging We Will Go

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:12:02 GMT

Suddenly August is here and Draks Drum have finally reached the point where we're a full line up and ready to start gigging. As anyone knows who's tried it, getting an original band together is a major mission, even more so if there's 7 of you. Getting an original band to stay and play together is mission and a half as well so fingers crossed all will be well. Our set of original indie-folk rock is about 20 songs plus a few spares and we'll be drifting new songs in and out as we go along to keep it fresh and interesting. Stylistically the set is mostly rock/indie with one or two folky ones to break it up a bit. We've got a lot of other folky/picky ones to choose from in the future to appeal to the die hard folk crowd. We'll see how the set pans out and what the reaction's like.

So, here's three Draks Drum gigs in August, all in Lancashire UK:

• Friday August 12th, The Cross Keys Hotel, Barnoldswick, Lancs, BB18 5UR, supporting Inner Frenzy. 8pm ish. Free gig. All 7 of us playing.

• Saturday August 27th, Jim's Acoustic Cafe, Colne, Lancs, BB8 9BJ. 7pm. 45 min set. Free gig. (Martin can't do this one)

• Monday August 29th, The Duke Of Lancaster (formerly The Shepherds), Colne, Lancs, BB8 0EB. 1.30pm. 1 hour set. Free gig. (Rich is away unfortunately)

In September Martin's away but we'll try and get a few gigs and do some open mics but from October onwards we'll be really trying to get lots more gigs with the full line up plus we'll be doing some new live videos for Youtube. More about this later. We're on the hunt now for suitable venues who support original bands and like the kind of indie-folk rock vibe that Draks Drum are about. A-gigging we will go, finally. JH

Another First?

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:51:05 GMT

Well it's another first. This is the first blog post of July and more importantly, Draks Drum had their first live rehearsal last night with a full band line-up; all 7 of us in the same room for the first time. Although Jon, Alex, Mike, Dave and Rich have been bashing the drum since late last year, Martin and Steve have recently joined on drums and bass so in a way everything has been a preamble up to this point. Over the last few months some of the guys have had a few life problems to sort out so we haven't all been present, but last night we were all in attendance for our regular Thursday at Dave's Aquarius Acoustics in Colne. Aquarius is a great place to rehearse btw, in fact I'd go as far to say it's my favourite rehearsal space ever! I've rehearsed in some right toilets and also places that like to think they've got it together, BUT Aquarius is the real deal.

Anyway, what was our first practice like I hear the multitudes asking? Well, obviously we're biased as hell and we don't want to make exaggerated claims BUT to us it sounded fucking ace! It sounded like a proper band, a big sound with lots of dynamics. Martin and Steve have just slotted right in there with the rest of us in an amazingly rapid fashion.
We bashed through about 20 songs and although the details need to be worked out, the basic thing was there. The vision was always to have drums and bass and it worked so well with everything else. Mike on percussion added another funky layer on top of Martin's solid kit work and in places the themes from Al and Dave soared above the rest with real power and depth. Jon and Steve held it together and Rich did his soundscapes and power chords to fantastic effect.

So we had a great first live rehearsal. No bighead bragging, but it was a belter. JH

Boastingly Bassful

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:38:18 GMT

What's that? Yeah, we've got a bass player. A bass player? Yeah, we've got one. After a long and gruelling search costing many lives and resources we've finally found a bass player and guess what? He lives in Colne. Yep. Right under our noses, bassing about. We flushed him out and had an audition last week and within about five minutes we knew we'd found Draks Drum's bassist. In fact he jammed through nearly the whole set as if he'd been in the band for weeks! Anyway he's called Steve Dixon and he's a really musical and talented player and a cool dude to boot. It's a small world in this part of Lancashire and Steve knows a few of our mutual friends and acquaintances so it's all very warm and fuzzy and we're very chuffed to have him on board after months of treading water and gazing at our shoes (mix those metaphors, who cares). So it's full steam ahead on the good ship Draks Drum. All on board, supplies and equipment fully serviced and able to navigate the deep waters of the original music ocean with a yo ho ho and a barrel of rum (or Jack Daniels if that's your poison). Luckily we've also found a cabin girl who's willing to help us book a few gigs in the local area and to help her on her way we've had some smart business cards and promo cd's done so potential venues know who we are and what we're about. There are now 7 of us in the band and it's sounding pretty awesome especially now that Martin and Steve are beginning to lock their drums and bass together. It's a big dynamic sound folks, oh yes indeedy. We're having our usual live practice on Thursday at the excellent Aquarius Acoustics in Colne and the 20 song set is getting tighter and tighter so we're ready to start booking gigs as we've now got a bass player. What you've got a bass player? Yes, we've got a bass player, fuck yeah. JH

Basically Bassless

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:05:00 GMT

Ho hum, we're still on a mission to find a bass player after parting company with our first one. Bumped into him recently, no hard feelings, asked if we'd found anybody. We thought it only fair to say goodbye to him rather than string him along while we found someone else even though we've set ourselves back a little bit while we hunt for a replacement. There's one out there but the right one seems to be like the proverbial rocking horse sh*t at the moment. JH has been on joinmyband.co.uk, basschat.co.uk and a few other good sites relentlessly sending messages to likely candidates but we've drawn a blank so far. We've auditioned a few but unfortunately no one as yet seems to have the experience and dexterity we're looking for. We all have our favourite bass players such as John Paul Jones, John 'The Ox' Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius and even Mick Karn (who's amazing). Let's not forget George Porter jr. from The Meters who nails it with his seemingly simple but devastating grooves. There's Flea from the Chilli Peppers, Stanley Clarke and Charlie Mingus if you like the jazz thing. Ok so we're not necessarily after bassists of this calibre (we wouldn't say no though) but it is surprising how few good bass players there seem to be. A lot of bassists seem to play the bass as a kind of afterthought rather than because it's the meat and veg of the band main course. These kind of players would probably rather be playing guitar or writing songs or something else. Sorry, but why do they bother calling themselves bass players when they'd rather be doing something else? Am I being horrible or do I have a point? Anyway, we're basically bassless but forging ahead. If anyone knows an Ox or two, give us a shout. JH

Flaming June

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:03:13 GMT

Well it's June, halfway through 2011 and only a few weeks until the days start getting shorter again. Shite. Time is speeding up and that's a galactic fact. Anyway, drums in the Draks Drum camp have been beating satisfactorially as we now have a new drummer! Welcome on board to Mr Martin Horne who originally hails from the shandy supping South but now resides in the picturesque but often bleak Waterfoot in Rossendale. Meanwhile JH has been on a frantic search for a new bass player as we parted company with Phil B due to musical differences. Phil is an excellent human being and all round great chap but unfortunately JH had to reconsider his decision to appoint him as bass player. JH has been doing a few open mics/folk nights during the band re shuffle and we hope to have a bassist in the next few weeks as we've got gigs in the pipeline and business cards on order. There's no getting off the music train folks once you're on, unless of course you're fond of emergency stops. Playing open mics etc. is a great way to gauge audience reaction to original material and it must be said that the tunes are getting very positive responses even in their raw acoustic/vox form. The full 7 piece band will of course make a hell of a noise, rather like a coach and horses, so we'll have to hold back a bit or the wheels could easily come off the cart. Woa there, watch those dynamics! So with the line up changes we've also been contending with 'lining up' a Fostex Model 80 reel to reel tape recorder. It's official; tape is best for recording drums. So that's what we're going to use; a good old fashioned reel to reel but it needs a service and some TLC before it gets pressed into service. Fat, thick, warm kit. Nice. We've been in touch with Pete T at Studio Studio in the NW and he's going to sort it out. We've got a practice tonight and 8 bass players have been targeted. Live rehearsals next few weeks. Today has been quite warm and sticky and we're not talking about nightime emissions, so I think flaming June is off to a good start. JH

What No Connection?

Sun, 15 May 2011 02:45:00 GMT

Well, it's been a radio silent April and May because Jon's had no internet connection other than popping into the local library every now and then and using friends' broadband whenever possible. It makes you realise how important the internet is for musicians in keeping connected and doing their thing. I tried to organise a new broadband package from Talk Talk and they sent me two letters saying how much they were going to do for me. YAY! But after A MONTH nothing had happened BOO! So I rang up to enquire what was going on. They said we'll get you up and running in a week. YAY! Nothing happened. BOO! I rang them up again (after waiting for ages on the phone) and was informed that my package had been cancelled. BOO effing BOO! So I rang Virgin. Yeah, we'll have you up and running in four days, they said. YAY! They gave me a firm date. Make sure you're in they said so our engineer can check out the situation. YAY! Sounds very professional I thought. So hopefully next week I'll be fully broadbanded up and able to continue with the musical connection. Meanwhile, Draks Drum have been having rehearsals and a bit of a line-up reshuffle (but more about that later) and I've been playing the sometimes unpleasant role of band manager in the hiring and firing department. Sometimes you have to make and execute unpleasant decisions and as I'm kind of in charge it's been down to me. We've now got a 20 song set of original material so we should be good for 2x45's I think and I've been hammering away at logo's and marketing materials so even though it's been radio silent the Draks Drum project rolls on in its multi-faceted way. They say 20% is music and 80% everything else so there's never a shortage of shit to sort. I've also been looking at mixing desks and figuring out a production pathway for recording some material so despite the lack of a connection there's been quite a lot going on. We'll be fully operational soon so watch this space and I won't have to listen to any more muzak whilst I wait for Talk Talk to not connect me up ! JH

Mission Accomplished But No Backslapping

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 01:33:10 GMT

It's been a mission but we managed to do our first gig at Jim's Cafe, Colne on Thurs March 24th without any major cock-ups. Jon made the biggest cock-up by forgetting the entire first verse of L Ron Headwood but thankfully the audience weren't bothered. It just goes to show you can practice a song hundreds of times but still fuck-up on the night. There weren't as many folk there as we'd hoped for but it didn't matter as those present really enjoyed the set and we got an encore afterwards and some great comments. So, all in all we're well chuffed with the way things turned out. The other bonus is that we managed to video the gig with two cameras. One was a mini DV cam, the other a new-fangled HD Hitachi (?) hard disk recorder with built-in stereo mics, designed specifically for bands and live performances. After a few busy days of editing we've put the highlights on our site via Youtube so you can watch Draks Drum doing their thing at www.draksdrum.com/video or on Youtube at www.youtube.com/user/no6creative. Ok, so it's not the best sound and vision and yes, we have loads of work to do but it's a fair representation of what we're about and in its own way we managed to get a result. We'll be having a debrief very soon and picking apart the videos and putting some work into fine tuning the existing songs so that 1) it's even better as a live performance and 2) the songs are ready to be recorded in a professional environment. So we'll be stepping things up on several levels. The next thing is to start on the next set of 7 songs. We've been learning them in groups of 7 which seems to have worked well so far. The other thing we'll be doing is trying to get some local gigs and supports and also doing some open mic nights which, thankfully, there are loads of in this part of Lancashire. More or less every night of the week there's an open mic going on so we'll be venturing out in various band combinations and getting our music out there. There's a lot to do but we've overcome the major challenge of getting an hour or so of a set together in under five months. So it's mission accomplished but no backslapping yet boys. JH

Early Days

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:03:34 GMT

We've got our first proper Draks Drum gig in two days and even though I've been playing music since I was about five I keep having to remind myself it's early days Jonny boy. It's ridiculous really. Bashing away at the music for decades, writing, gigging, practising, recording, blogging, running websites, 'marketing' oneself and at the end of it all not very much to show for it. There's so much work to do with any band project. There's no way round it, no shortcut, no easy path to success. You just have to be willing to put the effort in even if ones efforts are unsuccessful, and let's be honest 99% of bands and musicians get absolutely nowhere in terms of making an impact on the 'industry'. Regrets? Not one. Fear? Plenty. Why? Because every songwriter is 'up against' every other songwriter ever born; not in the dog-eat-dog-Darwinist-fuck-you-fest that is the modern world, but in the sense that music fans are highly educated about the music they like and support. Music fans know more about music than the songwriters do. They know what moves them, they know what they want to connect with, they know what a great song sounds like. They've heard thousands of great songs from great artists and you're just another one on music mountain, scrambling about in the foothills looking upwards at Lennon and Mitchell and Hendrix and Buckley as they traverse the peaks of great songwriting. If you're not fearful about the challenge then you're probably not up to it. BTW it's doesn't all have to be a rational conscious process, on the contrary, it's probably quite the opposite. If you sit down and try and write and produce a great song you'll probably fail unless there's some magic tin-pan alley formula that I'm not aware of. There probably is. There's probably a machine somewhere set up to create great songs. But that's not what it's about for me. It's more about being in the zone, in the presence of the muse and getting something out that has authenticity and identity. And when you've done that, you hand it over to the band and the real work starts. So it's early days on music mountain and we're mooching around base camp waiting for the off. Ho hum. JH

Rhythmically Speaking...

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:10:00 GMT

I'm obsessed by rhythms, beats, pulses. I'm always tapping. Always have. I think drummers/percussionists have to have a lot of nervous energy. People who have that kind of nervous energy should take up drumming. You'll love it. It's a lot better than masturbation and you don't go limp afterwards. On the contrary, after 90 mins of gig drumming you might be fucked but you're certainly not spent. Ok so there's 2:4, 3:4, 4:4, 5:4, 6:4, 6:8, 7:8, 9:8 and after that it just gets silly. There's the breakbeat, the backbeat, the off beat, the on beat, the Bo Diddley beat. Salsa, bossa nova, waltz time, two step, half time, double time, reggae, rock, jazz and experimental. I like trying to make odd time signatures groove and I deliberately put stresses in strange places. Why? Well, 'coz it's fun and because it's a challenge. I mean there's so much rhythm to learn and there are so many genius drummers and songwriters that the education never stops. Listen to Frank Zappa and some of his drummers like Vinnie Colaiuta and Terry Bozzio. Either you'll be inspired or you'll break your sticks in half and go back to spanking your monkey nights. The choice, as they say, is yours. You can't fuck about when it comes to drums yet the road is littered with tits behind kits. Single paradiddles, double paradiddles, triple flam paradiddles, ruffs, drags, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 9 stroke rolls, press rolls, whipped cream roll, blushda's, flam taps, blast beats, ghost notes, triplet fills and the Moeller techique. It's all there on Youtube. Go get it if you want it. So yes, I'm obsessed by it all and I try and squeeze some of it into the songs I write. I've got one in the pipeline in 10:8 but it's v groovy and you wouldn't know it's in silly time. It bounces along and it's foot tappy. Mission accomplished. I've slipped one in...as the actress said to the bishop. JH

Compulsion

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:10:00 GMT

What is it about songwriting that's so compelling? Is it the poetry and the melody? Is it the full chakra work out that songwriting can offer? Therapy? I think it's all and more of these things. Now there's nothing wrong with epics and I've written one or two but there's a lot to be said for the short, popular song format. It's an art form in itself. So that's another reason why songwriting can be such a buzz because you have to say it and sing it, and before the landlord calls time. You know, get on with it. That's fine by me. I understand the culture that gave rise to the popular song that I love. It's where I'm from. So we've got poetry, melody, therapy, myth, storytelling, conviviality, culture and doubtless many other things to consider in the mix. Script writing has similar attractions but perhaps a script can never be as potent, immediate or as ethereal as a song. A song can fly in to your ear and whisk you away, just for a moment. I like songs like that. There's love as well. Of all the topics for songwriters, love is probably at number 1. Don't you just love lovesongs? It's probably the biggest selling emotion in the book of emotions. Heck, songs are so ruddy emotional; tearing your heart out this way and that. Rising you up and grinding you down. Blue moon, red red wine, mellow yellow. Then there's rhythm. Structure. Key. Harmony. The lyrics. What instrument are you writing that song on? Are you just humming the bitch or what? Where's your head at? What about your heart? Songs come at ya! You watch a vid. You hear a phrase. You hum a melody. There's a new song forming *snap* just like that. Code Blue. It's compelling alright. JH

Frontman? Who Me?

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:40:00 GMT

I was in my first band, Copper Grafiti, when I was 12. I had a washing powder tin with an antelope skin stretched over it and secured with a belt. This was my first bongo. The lead guitarist turned down our first gig because of a dispute about the billing! Tit. Fast forward a bit. I started playing drums. FF a bit more; I started writing songs for numerous original bands which all imploded for various reasons and all the while I sat at the back drumming my arse off and doing backing vocals. In 2004 I decided to go it alone to keep my music alive so it was just me and an acoustic guitar.

I found this very difficult because to be honest I'm a bit of a geek/bookworm type, lacking in confidence, full of crippling self doubt but what could I do? If I wasn't performing and presenting my music it would die on the vine so I gritted my teeth and learned how to perform, play and sing guitar to the best of my ability. FF to the end of 2010 and a serendipitous combination of wonderful people led to the formation of Draks Drum which is the first band to play my music in which I'm at the front, trying to present my music with a full ensemble (7) of musicians.

So, last night we had a live rehearsal and a bystander remarked a) what a fantastic band we were b) what a lovely voice I had and c) what a brilliant front man I was. No, I didn't pay her to say any of this and yes, I was stunned and slightly embarrassed at the same time. The point being I don't feel like a frontman but what I do feel is that no one knows my tunes better than me and because they're packed with possibilities I get the bit between my teeth and belt it out. They kind of take over. I'm away with the fairies and I suppose it's the practice and hard work that allows the autopilot to kick in and the muse to step forward and enjoy the performance. So frontman? Nah, not me. I'm just absorbed in it all, but aw shucks Wendy, thanks for the vote of confidence. JH

Another Band Project Redux

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:10:00 GMT

This is the first blog I've blogged so it's going to be short and sweet. Music's in my blood. I think it's what I'm here for and once again I find myself starting another band project. This time with six (gulp!) other musicians more than willing to put in the effort to learn a few of my tunes. We're called 'Draks Drum' and we'll be doing some old stuff and some new stuff and along with everyone else 'putting it out there' as best we can. We've got the beginnings of our sound and it's going to take some 'wrangling' but it's working well so far and we've only been a band for three months or so. I write songs from the heart, from the head and from the guts. Angst, myth and ambience. A mixed bag, a melting pot of influences tempered by my rhythmic agenda. So, here's a short poignant tune dedicated to the little sparrows I used to see flying round my yard many years ago. It's called 'Sparrow, Sparrow' and Draks Drum might just do an extended version. Some songs are never finished and this may be just one of them. JH